- Tenney Mountain rope evacuates Hornet.
- Two people are injured falling from the Panorama Express at Gunstock.
- Hatley Pointe, North Carolina loses its main lift due to a mechanical issue.
- Cuchara successfully opens Chair 4 for the first time since 2000.
- Mt. Jefferson, Maine may close after this season.
- The publicly-owned ski hill in Des Moines, Iowa seeks a new chairlift.
- With a strike dragging on, Le Massif announces the end of ski season, then promptly reaches a deal to reopen tomorrow.
- With public and private funding secured, Mont-Sainte-Anne plans to sign a contract to replace three aging detachables in March.
- A mixed-use development near Park City could include a gondola connection to Deer Valley East Village.
- Vail CEO Rob Katz discusses unionization efforts in the ski industry and reflects on last season’s strike at Park City.
- A rider who died after falling from a chairlift at Cypress Mountain last week may have lost consciousness before falling.
- Elected officials are under investigation for meeting with the owner of Telluride about a sale during the patrol strike.
Le Massif
News Roundup: 462 Cabins
- Telluride’s ski patrol strike ends after 13 days.
- Le Massif partially reopens with limited hours as a strike drags on.
- More than 500 people spend most of an overnight atop the Palm Springs Tramway following a technical issue, now resolved.
- Nearly 200 are rescued safely from Whitefish’s Big Mountain Express in a multi-hour rope evacuation.
- Sugarloaf’s SuperQuad goes down due to a gearbox issue.
- Leitner-Poma will build the new Canyons Village gondola at Park City.
- Anakeesta’s new LPOA gondola to be called Crystal Express.
- Doppelmayr wins the contract for Killington Snowdon with a total project cost of $7.04 million.
- Doppelmayr also will build the world’s longest urban gondola in Mexico City with 12 stations, 462 cabins and 114 towers over 9.4 miles.
- Wildcat reopens its beginner chair after a year-long closure.
- Castle Mountain’s new map shows lift expansion on Mt. Haig.
- A state evaluation following the Park City gondola mishap last week notes no mechanical malfunction but says “a gondola cabin leaving a terminal with a passenger being suspended by the foot is not acceptable and has the potential for extremely serious injuries.” During a Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee Meeting, Park City’s Director of Mountain Operations Nick Dana notes “we did have a loading incident on Red Pine Gondola last week so we’re continuing to look into that and work with the manufacturer to investigate into our door monitoring switches there at top of Red Pine Gondola.”
- Also from the UPRSC, the Forest Service notes several recent chair detachments on Riblet and Stadeli lifts in Montana.
News Roundup: Boxing Day
- Another real estate access lift called Powdercrest is on the horizon at Big Sky.
- The Whitetail Express at Whitetail, PA goes down until further notice after just one day of operation this season.
- Wildcat’s Snowcat lift, which missed all of last season, won’t reopen for a bit longer.
- A viral video from Austria shows gondola cabins surging up and down, blamed on speed and changed drive parameters.
- A grip slip incident claims a life in Montenegro.
- A skier is hospitalized after falling from a lift at Sunshine Village.
- Powderhorn performs a rope evacuation of the Flat Top Flyer.
- Following Washington floods, Crystal Mountain reopens at full capacity and Stevens Pass will open Monday with a four hour detour from Seattle.
- Workers at Le Massif, Quebec reject a contract proposal and authorize a strike beginning January 2nd.
- Eaglecrest’s used gondola project will cost at least five times initial estimates.
- A worker is seriously injured in Italy when wind lifts a safety net into the path of a chair.
- The sale of Eldora is taking longer than expected.
News Roundup: Contingency Plan
- Homewood to reopen next season but its D-Line gondola delivered in 2023 won’t be installed this summer.
- Powdr abandons plans to sell Mt. Bachelor.
- Powdr’s sale of Eldora is said to be in the final stages.
- Le Massif, Quebec signs on to the Ikon Pass.
- New details emerge from the antitrust case against the owner of Song Mountain and Labrador Mountain, New York; he plans to appeal.
- Whaleback, New Hampshire looks toward a new chairlift.
- Sun Valley seeks to be removed from a lawsuit filed by a homeowner regarding the placement of the new Flying Squirrel quad.
- Stratton’s American Express closes early and will reopen for summer later than normal for a major systems modernization.
- The Forest Service approves Steamboat to replace Sunshine Express with a six pack.
- The world’s second largest gondola network is proposed in India with 15 stations and 660 cabins.
- If Bluewood, Washington can’t complete its planned relocation of a used high speed quad from Austria next season, it will keep its Borvig lift and credit passholders $100.
- The US government implements a blanket 20% tariff on goods from the European Union and 31% on products from Switzerland, both major source regions for lift components.
- Skeetawk, Alaska works to repair its only chairlift but snow may run out first.
- Arctic Valley, Alaska’s T-Bar will be inoperable the rest of the season due to an incident damaging the haul rope.
- Holiday Mountain, New York looks to reopen long lost terrain with a third chairlift.
- Alta to realign Supreme this summer, re-doing every foundation and re-using towers and terminals.
- Castle Mountain’s expansion lift to be called Stagecoach Express.
- The owner of Berkshire East and Catamount would operate Burke Mountain under a proposed sale to local investors. The group also plans to refurbish the J-Bar and relocate Willoughby if the sale goes through.
News Roundup: Mega Order
- A Nevada county rejects re-zoning for a new ski area in the Ruby Mountains.
- Le Massif, Quebec is reportedly for sale or looking for an equity partner.
- Sandia Peak, New Mexico apologizes for recent lift downtime.
- Arctic Valley, Alaska’s new master plan envisions three new chairlifts.
- Mantis Ropeway Technologies debuts unmanned autonomous stations on six ropeways in Austria and Switzerland this winter with US expansion planned.
- Consulting firm SCJ Alliance expands its cable-propelled transit division.
- A Denver TV station explores the history of the only lost Vail Resorts mountain.
- Eleven Telluride residents seek to invalidate the successful ballot measure funding a new Mountain Village gondola.
- A Swiss resort group splits a $79 million lift order between Garaventa and Leitner. The former is Garaventa’s largest-ever order and includes the second-ever TRI-Line gondola.
- A straw poll suggests strong resident support for a gondola linking Park City’s Main Street with Deer Valley Resort.
News Roundup: Reimagining
- The Canyons Village Management Association budgets $8 million for a Cabriolet replacement and $9.24 million toward a new gondola on the Canyons side of Park City Mountain.
- The Summit at Snoqualmie adds more chairs to Armstrong Express at Alpental.
- Mt. Bachelor offers Skyliner Express chairs for sale.
- Keystone releases an all new trail map showing the Bergman expansion.
- New owners of Holiday Mountain, New York will host a stakeholder meeting tomorrow to outline rebuilding plans.
- The Whistler Blackcomb Peak 2 Peak Gondola may open late for the summer due to an issue related to ice buildup.
- A former employee who fell 30 feet from a Riblet double without a safety bar while downloading accuses Stevens Pass of negligently operating an old, unsafe chairlift.
- Colorado reports a record 14.8 million skier visits.
- New Hampshire also reports strong results from last season.
- Vail Resorts says season pass sales are trending up 6 percent in units and 11 percent in dollars for next season.
- Le Massif will operate two of its longest lifts for a unique night time sound and light show this summer.
- Highland Mountain Bike Park to close its chairlift for a week to replace the communications line.
- Snowmass receives approval to replace Coney Glade with a realigned and extended detachable quad in 2024.
- Five years after closing, Deer Mountain, South Dakota will reopen as a private club.
News Roundup: Mixed Bag
- The Forest Service sends a notice of noncompliance to Montana Snowbowl over the Snow Park lift incident and response.
- Crystal Mountain’s President departs and Alterra reevaluates the announced Reimagine Crystal plan.
- Lutsen Mountains to retire the 10th Mountain triple.
- Hoodoo reports a Riblet clip ejection of a misloaded chair on the Hodag quad with no injuries to the rider(s).
- Mad River Glen’s Sunnyside double may get a mid-station.
- Le Massif completes a four hour rope evacuation of the Massif Express gondola, now closed for the season due to a gearbox issue.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne’s gondola will reopen tomorrow, four months after a cabin fell off.
- Board members resign from the Antelope Butte board of directors citing lift safety concerns.
- The Balsams says now is not the time to go to market.
- Woods Valley eyes installation of two used CTEC quads over the next few years.
- Big Sky shares photos of new tram cabins being fabricated in Switzerland.
- Two studies see the ropeway market growing around 10 percent annually over the next decade with the North American share growing to near 20 percent of the global total.
- Belleayre announces replacement of Lift 7 with a Doppelmayr quad.
News Roundup: Allegations
- With energy at a premium in Europe, Leitner showcases technology which regulates the speed of a ropeway based on rider demand.
- The nonprofit which has been running Big Squaw says the sale to Big Moose Development still hasn’t been completed and this season will continue as normal.
- Sugarbush confirms a Heaven’s Gate replacement is in the works but it won’t happen in 2023 as lift prices surge and lead times increase.
- Ropeway pioneer Willy Garaventa dies at the age of 88.
- Los Angeles releases the Environmental Impact Statement for the Dodger Stadium gondola project.
- Names for the five new Skytracs at Jack Frost Big Boulder are: Blue Heron, Harmony, Paradise, Pocono and Tobyhanna.
- Groupe Le Massif remains interested in acquiring Mont-Sainte-Anne from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies and would also be open to acquiring Stoneham as part of a deal.
- After multiple years of construction, Ontario’s Mt. Baldy finally has a new chairlift.
- Mount Snow will sell more double, triple and quad chairs for charity.
- New York’s Attorney General sues the owners of Labrador Mountain and Song Mountain, alleging their purchase and closure of nearby Toggenburg was anti-competitive. Former Toggenburg/current Greek Peak owner John Meier agreed to pay the State $195,000 and will cooperate in the case against Labrador and Song’s parent company.
- The Governor of Utah throws his support behind the Little Cottonwood gondola project.
- A new document shows where Mammoth’s relocated Panorama Gondola and new Big Bend chairlift would run as part of the Evolving Main project.
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania again seeks an operator to revive the Denton Hill Ski Area.
News Roundup: Time Lapse
- Quebec skier visits rise to 6.3 million, second highest in the last 10 years.
- Colorado posts its best season on record with approximately 14 million skier visits.
- Skier visits were higher than the two previous seasons in Vermont.
- Former Jay Peak head Bill Stenger sits down for an interview to share his side of the story before reporting to prison.
- Granite Gorge sells at auction to local investors who plan to reopen.
- Montana Snowbowl’s new triple chair will be extremely steep (6th steepest chairlift in the country by my count.)
- Aspen Mountain begins Pandora’s construction.
- Le Massif joins the Mountain Collective Pass.
- Lost Trail signs on to the Powder Alliance.
- The landlord for Big Snow American Dream remains in deep financial trouble.
- Park City planning commissioners delay deciding on the Silverlode and Eagle lift replacement projects until at least June 15th, leaving a very narrow window for construction if approved.
- The Cascade Skyline Gondola proposal enjoys wide community support compared to a competing ski resort concept.
- Developers of the Big Moose Mountain project present their case to the Maine Land Use Planning Commission.
- Big White will replace 16 cabins on Lara’s Gondola this summer.
- Dodge Ridge and Mountain High owner Karl Kapuscinski would like to add new high speed lifts at both resorts in the next few years.
- The State of West Virginia plans two eight passenger gondolas to replace older systems at Hawks Nest and Pipestem state parks.
News Roundup: Ramping Up
- As of the January 3rd Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee meeting, Doppelmayr USA had sold approximately 30 lifts for 2022.
- Skytrac is already hiring construction employees for the upcoming build season.
- Sierra at Tahoe installs and splices a new rope on the fire-damaged Grandview Express, a key milestone toward reopening.
- An Italian maintenance technician succumbs to injuries sustained from being hit by a gondola cabin.
- Whaleback closes its chairlift due to a motor issue.
- The New York Times explores why some resorts are experiencing more staff shortages than others, the Denver Post talks with Epic Pass customers from across the country about their experiences this season.
- A number of lifts haven’t opened at Park City this year due to staff shortages; one of Crotched Mountain’s four chairlifts has no chairs on it.
- Vail Resorts Executive Chairperson Rob Katz joins the Storm Skiing Podcast to talk about remarkable growth of the company and this season’s challenges.
- Passholders at Stevens Pass are offered $150 off next year’s pass or the same amount in resort credit as a result of operational difficulties.
- Vail offers $13.1 million to settle lawsuits alleging labor violations.
- Le Massif introduces a Kevin Mastin trail map showing its new lift and removal of a disused gondola.
- Poma provides an update on the world’s largest current 3S project.
- Another insightful podcast: Indy Pass founder Doug Fish on the growth of that product.
- Lake Louise says testing of the Juniper Express is underway with a delayed opening now planned for February.
- The agency operating three New York State ski areas proposes a $105 million capital budget for 2023.
- Gore Mountain unveils a $30 million redevelopment plan for the North Creek Ski Bowl including replacing the Hudson triple with a longer detachable quad.
- A Colorado county passes on partnering with Florida developers to reopen Cuchara.
- Big Snow American Dream still doesn’t know when it will reopen.
- The City of Burnaby, British Columbia officially endorses the Burnaby Mountain Gondola proposal.
- Alaska’s newest ski area will need at least $10 million to install its next lift.
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